The Little Engine That Could: The Origin Of Buick's Turbo V-6, And The Path That It Paved For Compact Performance In America

* mgnta.com

Anyone who knows what a T-Type or Grand National is knows that it was the turbocharged versions of Buick's G-Body Regal that brought muscle into a decade in American automotive that simply was not known for its overall sense of construction, let alone performance platforms. This, of course was the 1980s. If you are a turbo Buick fan, then the automaker's famed 3.8-liter motor, with its sequential injection and intercooled turbocharger, is a horsepower icon that's already been well engrained into your memory.

* mgnta.com

But there's a question that we rarely ask in terms of the turbo-6's history, and that's one of its very origin. Truth be told, Buick began experimenting with V-6 engine construction as early as 1962, but it was a platform that met little, if any, success during the early part of the decade.

From 1962 to '63, the automaker meddled with a turbocharged variant of their 215 cubic-inch mill, that ironically enough was used exclusively in Oldsmobile models. After 1967, Buick abandoned the turbo V-6 idea, in the midst of a horsepower war where motor displacement took the throne.

* mgnta.com

It would not be until the mid-'70s that the company would revisit the idea, and the blown V-6 manifested itself once more in the guise of the 1976 Buick Indy Pace Car, the turbo option being made available to the public in '78 through the "Sport Coupe" option on the Regal, due to the motor's popularity in the Pace Car.

The Regal itself underwent extensive change, Buick's G-Body being shortened, while shaving-off some 560 pounds of dry weight. These were changes that helped to form the Regal into modern day muscle, but nevertheless, the best that Buick was able to squeeze from their compact V-6 was in the 170-200 horse range. Naturally, this is mostly true of the small motor's earliest manifestations, especially those turbo V-6s built from 1978-82. First, available in 2 or 4-barrel carbureted versions, then standard as a 4-barrel by 1979.

* http://www.2040cars.com/Buick/Century/1976-buick-century-regal-t-top-replica-pace-car-cutlass-grand-prix-265564/

What mostly changed about the engine's construction from the late '70s into the early '80s was the physical location of the motor's electronic, anti-knock sensor from the intake to the top rear of the block. This was due to the addition of an aluminum intake, which would've interfered with the knock sensor, or "Turbo Control Center's," function.

* http://beforeblack.net/evolution.htm

Also, better-flowing heads were installed on all 3.8 motors built in 1979, along with better performing spark plugs that reduced overall plug gap from 0.060 to 0.040, thereby reducing fouling.

The Grand National, introduced in 1982 mostly as a naturally-aspirated model, would not take on the turbo as an RPO option until '84, and it was then that Buick was able to push the GN into the 200-horsepower range. Also, 3.8 motors for '82 were opened by a new cam, valve springs and valve dampeners to allow the V-6 to run at higher speeds. Turbochargers for the model year used a smaller turbine for improved throttle response and less lag.

* en.wikipedia.org

* Beforeblack.net

The very idea of using engine load and throttle position to build intake pressure was definitely there, even by 1978, but the Grand National and even more powerful GNX would not become realities until the greater part of the '80s, after which fuel injection was introduced to the 3.8's hardware.

* gminsidenews.com

Be that as it may, Gary Bryson and Southern California's Molly Designs built a turbo V-6 Century, one backed by Buick for the purpose of attracting younger buyers to the brand. It was Bryson's force-fed, '76 Century that would become predecessor to both the Indy Pace Car and Grand National, culminating in the '87 GNX as a final farewell to the turbo Regal lineup.

* www.cars-on-line.com

They were experiments that led Buick to learn more about turbo performance, and it paved the way for what would become one of the automaker's greatest endeavors.

* www.hemmings.com

Many muscle car traditionalists like to hold to the adage of, "No replacement for displacement." For anyone who actually believed it, however, Buick concocted the perfect recipe to change their minds forever.

* buickcity.blogspot.com